


This Light of Mine

by SakuraDemonAlchemist



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia
Genre: Genderbending Reincarnation Canon Divergence Overprotective siblings, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-05
Updated: 2020-12-03
Packaged: 2021-03-09 02:26:41
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 12,594
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27397180
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SakuraDemonAlchemist/pseuds/SakuraDemonAlchemist
Summary: If there was one thing Todoroki Sakura wasn't about to tolerate, it suffering through an unpleasant childhood twice. Fortunately thanks to the memories of her past life, she knows she has alternative options. Too bad her older brother Touya isn't getting much choice in the matter, after his sister accidentally tracks him down. Let's see how the heroes handle an anti-hero who uses common sense and has an entire lifetime of magical training to fall back on!
Relationships: Izuku/fem Shouto
Comments: 102
Kudos: 575





	1. Chapter 1

When she was first reborn into this strange new world, she had taken it in stride. She had been through too much in her past life to really do more than say “meh” at being reincarnated...thankfully into the same gender.

That was before she got a better idea of her new birth father's character and the rather broken home life she would be dealing with. 

Above all, she had a particular hatred towards domestic abuse.

Todoroki Sakura was a rather unusual girl. She could have handled any number of abuse heaped on her by her bastard of a father, who was unlikely to be found out due to his status as the second most popular/powerful pro hero, but she drew the line when he targeted her mother in front of her.

Sakura hadn't thought twice about jumping in front of her mother, of taking the hit in her place. She had been pissed enough that the act would have been entirely unconscious.

She hadn't expected Endeavor to not even remotely try to moderate his blow...he had to have realized he was about to hit his youngest rather than his unfortunate wife before it would hit.

The punch sent her flying into the stove, where she got a solid knock to the head from the metal. As if fate was mocking her, the kettle that her mother had been heating up for tea began to fall, the spout pointed downwards and the scalding hot water pouring out and directly onto the unprotected left side of her face.

She screamed, as her current body hadn't built up quite the same pain tolerance of her last life. Then again she had never been burned so badly in her last life either.

The next thing she remembered was waking up in her room, and learning that while she would have a scar over her left eye she would still be able to see. Her mother had been charged and sent to a 'special' hospital, with the claim that she had suffered a psychotic break and had caused the devastating injury to her daughter because 'she was too much like her father'.

Sakura was pissed. Endeavor had spun the entire story into an utter lie, and was even divorcing her poor mother over it citing that she was a danger to her children...Sakura in particular.

Touya, furious over the incident, left the first chance he could and never came back. Fuyumi tried her best to keep the house together, but it had been broken long before the incident and was now little more than a massive powder keg about to blow up.

Once she was back up to what she considered acceptable standards, which took about two years...Sakura knew her time had come. As much as she loved Fuyumi, who honestly did try her best, she could not stand Endeavor's tyranny and complete bullshit any longer.

And honestly, his so-called training would have her stagnate by the next year in terms of where she wanted to go anyway.

She disappeared into the darkness, while Endeavor was off on some big hero conference and Fuyumi would be crashed out in her room from a hard day cramming for her teaching license.

It would be almost two days before anyone noticed she was missing, and by that point she was long gone from the prefecture and had a disguise that would be incredibly difficult to notice.

Cosplay was such a useful excuse for odd and unusual outfits.

Three years later...

“Happy Sun Couriers! Open up if you don't want your door destroyed!” said the overly chipper and far too irritating voice.

Dabi practically stormed to the front door, pissed at having been woken up at seven in the morning when he only got to sleep three hours ago.

“What?!”

The courier was a brat. Barely twelve or thirteen at most. She had medium length black hair that went down in a ponytail that was threaded through a simple ball cap with the company logo imprinted on the front. She wore worn, but well loved clothing that had seen better days, and was somewhat skinny.

“Your package, sir. Sign here,” she said crisply.

He vaguely noticed the skates on her shoes and wondered how exactly she managed to get down up the stairs of his safe-house wearing those.

He idly signed it with a fake name, and then took the package. There was something hauntingly familiar in those green eyes, and if he didn't know any better he'd swear she looked at him with odd recognition in her own eyes. Like she knew him, and not just as a client.

It wasn't until a month later when the same brat tracked him down...and then he found out who she really was.

“Brat. How did you find me again?”

“If you know what to look for, the signs are easy enough to follow...Touya,” she said evenly.

Rage and more than a slight hint of fear took over. He slammed the girl into the wall, uncaring of any witnesses. No one should know his real name, not after he left that so-called 'family' behind.

He might tolerate his siblings, should he ever run into them, but his father would be a dead man if he had any say about the matter.

“Who told you that name?” he demanded, angry. She was a dead girl if she gave the wrong answer.

“I knew it. I had a feeling it was you,” she said relieved.

“What?”

As if the day couldn't get any more surreal, the girl used her quirk. Her right hand iced the wall behind her, while her left became ablaze in an all too familiar fire.

Dabi...or rather Touya...dropped her in shock. To insure there was no doubt as to her identity, she took out both the colored contacts, revealing a pair of heterochromatic eyes and removed the cap, showing off some rather distinct roots of a badly done dye job.

There was only one person he knew who fit the description of what his eyes were telling him.

“Sakura?” he said in complete shock and disbelief.

If things weren't weird enough, Sakura dropped her quirk and promptly hugged him tight.

“Touya-nii-san.”

Dabi, or rather Touya, felt the strong desire to make a very stiff drink.

Some time later...

Dabi looked at his youngest sister with no little amount of amazement and respect.

He never thought the youngest of that man's children would have the balls to ditch that caustic household on her own at the tender age of nine, let alone know enough to successfully hide on the streets without getting killed or worse for three full years.

Sakura had always been so quiet, so mature... however he had always known there was a barely hidden cold rage towards that bastard hidden in her. It was a more advanced version of the hatred he had for that man in his own soul.

Dabi discreetly walked his little sister to the complex she was squatting in. Most of the people who lived there welcomed her presence gladly, as she provided a safe source of water and kept them comfortable during the harsher weather conditions of the summer and winter. Her dual quirk was quite useful in that regard.

An older beggar woman spotted them, and quietly called Sakura over for some 'change'.

Dabi's respect for his sister grew, because it quickly became apparent the woman was passing along vital information to his sister which had her scowling.

“Damn do-gooder heroes...” she muttered in annoyance.

“What's wrong?” asked Dabi.

“Some idiot hero decided that they would help the 'homeless children' squatting in the complex and is attempting to relocate them to 'better' homes without giving any regard of their opinion. And if they happen to have useful quirks, the better since they would remember them for his 'kindness' later once they were older,” spat Sakura. “And considering how certain quirks run in families, odds are they might be relocated back to the same homes they ran away from.”

Dabi grimaced. No wonder she was pissed...the second they found out they had discovered the missing daughter of Endeavor, the press would have a field day and would happily eat up the 'reunion'.

“What do you plan to do?” asked Dabi.

“The others have a set place to meet up in case we're ever raided by the cops, so we're going there first. I'll help relocate them to an area they can lay low until this nonsense dies down, then vacate the district entirely. If any measure of my actual description gets out, that bastard is sure to make an appearance.”

Dabi thought over the situation. It wasn't until he saw how his baby sister organized the other runaways into discreetly hiding until the nonsense and publicity died down that he came to a decision.

She was surviving yes, but not thriving like she should. Seeing her mother hen the others into obeying reminded him of the difficulty he had starting out on his own. He had cut all ties with his family for a reason...but perhaps here was a reason to reforge one.

~*~*~*~*~

If Dabi had been thrown by the fact his youngest sibling was surviving better than he had when he first struck out on his own, it was nothing compared to the fact he found himself following orders from his youngest sibling.

Sakura had a rather realistic view of the world and a no-nonsense attitude that he could appreciate. She wasn't overly caught up in the morals that society instilled in the masses and was perfectly capable of being rather ruthless if the occasion called for it.

Like when they were running very low on funds and she literally robbed a villain in a dark alley. The idiot didn't even see her coming, and he was still left hogtied for the pathetic example of heroes in the area to arrest.

Dabi had a loose idea of how he wanted to shape his life, but he found it much more entertaining acting as his sister's back-up. Sakura was driven in ways he couldn't contemplate...not without a proper goal in mind.

She would make a terrifying hero, in his personal opinion.

Perhaps it was fortunate that Endeavor had made that particular career path as distasteful as it had for him.

Still, there were limits to the level of weirdness he was willing to tolerate.

Why in the name of all things sane and holy did his sister have to bring her back to their safe house?

Her being one Himiko Toga, a bloodthirsty little sadist that Dabi had run into more than a few times in the underground fighting rinks. She was a sadist who got off on drinking blood and would happily gut anyone who looked at her funny.

And he had walked into the apartment one night after a job to find her happily listening to an amused Sakura who was teaching her gods knew what while holding a far too sharp knife for his liking.

He had no idea what Sakura had done to win the complete and absolute loyalty of that bloodthirsty nutcase, or how the hell she was able to reign her in so effortlessly...but having her around gave Dabi headaches just thinking about it.

“Sakura...why?” asked Dabi, twitching as he unconsciously avoided another playful stab from Toga.

“Better to have the sadist on our side, then to deal with her later. Besides, can you imagine the chaos we could spread using her quirk? We could screw up that man's hero office so badly it'll take them weeks, if not months to fix,” said Sakura.

Dabi twitched at the implications of that. Did not mean he appreciated having to deal with Toga's eccentric behavior patterns.

Sakura shook her head in amusement.

“You're not looking at the bigger picture, nii-san.”

“What bigger picture?”

“Think of it this way. You find Toga's attempts to drink your blood a nuisance at this point, correct?”

“Absolutely,” said Dabi with irritation.

“So what would happen if you faced a villain or other idiot armed with knives trying to stab you in your blindspot?” asked Sakura.

Dabi blinked, thought that one through, before he made a face.

“You have got to be joking.”

“Constant paranoia... I mean vigilance... could be the difference between getting knifed in the back by a dumbass with a blade or turning them into ashes,” said Sakura flatly.

“...I think I hate you.”

“If you find her annoying to deal with, just imagine the fun the heroes are going to have with her later once we've gotten her trained. A natural assassin and spy like her would be a nightmare to deal with,” said Sakura gleefully.

Dabi looked at the creepily happy Toga, then at his sister who looked positively evil.

“You're not going villain, are you?” he asked suspiciously.

Sakura rolled her eyes.

“Puh-lease. Villains and heroes are so damn overrated and cliché it's not even worth bothering with. I refuse to go down the path of an overused super villain...that way leads to monologues and idiotic hiring choices, not to mention the annoyance that is the pro heroes coming after you every time you do anything interesting,” said Sakura.

Dabi snorted at that.

“No, I have something better in mind. I want to organize the vigilantes.”

Dabi looked confused.

“Organize the vigilantes?” he repeated.

Sakura's eyes gleamed. Even Toga was sitting up intently now...she could sense the wheels of history turning, and best of all she had the potential to be remembered for centuries if they did this right.

“With the way the laws are written, the only way anyone is allowed to actually explore the full extent of their quirk is to either become a pro hero, a vigilante, or a villain...depending on the individual's motivations of course. And let's face it, pro heroes are only useful for propaganda purposes at this point because they've allowed themselves to slack off thanks to the shining beacon that is All Might.”

Dabi and Toga both nodded in agreement to that. Most pro heroes these days were an absolute joke, with a few glaring exceptions.

“And villains aren't much better. Most of the better ones have the sense to bide their time until something happens to All Might, and then the floodgates are going to open in a wave that will almost certainly wipe out a sizable chunk of the pro hero class. Hell, odds are it would spark a massive war that would leave untold devastation if it's not handled correctly and with proper timing,” said Sakura.

“That makes sense...with how much effort All Might and the decent ones are putting in, most of the smart villains have went underground and focused on building up their forces,” said Dabi. “He's got to be at least fifty now, and it wouldn't be that surprising for things to go to hell once he retires or suffers an injury he can't recover from.”

“I think he already has. I've been keeping a close eye on him for a while now for that exact reason, and I think he's tangled with someone who caused a pretty serious wound. So much so he might be looking for someone to take his place. Add in his age and the toll of being that active takes on the body...” said Sakura.

Dabi winced.

“What about the third faction?”

“Vigilantes are, for the most part, neither good or evil. They're the neutrals that for one reason or another have failed to gain the legitimacy needed to become a serious player. However if someone were to organize them into a major faction, they could easily tip the scales so that the fallout from losing All Might doesn't completely send the world into a downward spiral,” said Sakura flatly. “Look at Toga-chan for example. With her personality and quirk, she could be an excellent villain because her habits would make her an 'unacceptable' hero in the eyes of the public.”

Toga nodded at that. Her own parents had thrown her out when the full extent of her quirk became known.

“However once she had a proper direction, she would become a devastating force for whatever side she's on. Especially if we can fix that chemical instability,” said Sakura.

“Awww... I thought you liked me the way I was!” pouted Toga.

“I do. However that habit of yours has a bad habit of giving you tunnel vision. What would happen if you were sent to infiltrate a major hero meeting and your desire for blood caused you to reveal yourself prematurely? The information you have would be lost and you would be arrested,” said Sakura flatly. “What I want to do is give you a more even keel so that when you come across someone you really want to cut up, you won't be blinded to your surroundings and get taken out.”

Toga glomped her, without attempting to cut her. That was the nicest thing anyone had ever said to her after learning her habits.

“So what are you planning to do?” asked Dabi, fully interested now.

Sakura smirked.

“Do you know what the definition of an anti-hero is?”


	2. Chapter 2

Dabi had to admit, his sister's plan had some serious merit. She wasn't being idealistic...she was being ruthlessly pragmatic about her intentions. Neither of the siblings ever wanted to be a pro hero...particularly on the off chance that they would have to one day work with that asshole.

She even had a way of getting them semi-legitimate jobs to help build their reputation...all difficult as hell, but the rewards were more than worth it.

“Explain to me again why we're guarding some kid?” asked Toga.

“The Yaoyorozu family are rich, well connected and highly respected. Their daughter is going on a school trip soon and there has been some vague threats against the family in general. The father wants to make sure his child is protected until they're dealt with by the heroes, without interrupting his daughter's school life with an obvious bodyguard,” said Sakura.

“So how did you get this job? I doubt they're going to hire some kids without a license,” asked Dabi, genuinely curious.

Sakura snorted.

“You're forgetting something important. The asshole never filed a missing person report on his 'intern',” said Sakura.

Dabi blinked.

“What?”

“My provisional license as a intern for the asshole's office is still valid. The family only checked to see if the license was an active number...they never checked to see if I was still working with him. After all, who would think to question someone like him over an intern trying to make a little extra cash on the side?”

Dabi cackled. His baby sister was incredibly devious and by the time that particular bit of miscommunication was cleared up their name would be out there as discreet bodyguards for the underage. Most of the rich families would be more than happy to pay for a semi-legitimate protection for their brats that wouldn't disrupt said kid's personal life.

And by the time people figured out the truth, there was a chance their reputation would have grown that no one would really care about it.

“How did you learn this stuff anyway?” asked Toga.

“That...is a secret~!” said Sakura mischievously. Seeing the looks on their faces, she cackled. “I'll tell you later, once we're done.”

A few hours later...

Yaoyorozu Momo was less than thrilled hearing she would be getting bodyguards for her school trip. She hated being the center of attention like that, and the other girls always got so snippy whenever her wealth was brought up.

That or they tried to worm their way into her good graces to earn 'tidbits' as her mother had once put it.

The guy didn't look very heroic, in her opinion. He had scars on his face and he was rather intimidating. And for some strange reason he didn't really stick close to her at all.

She was happily chatting with her few casual friends on the bus when it happened. A car came speeding past, before blocking the front of the bus while a second came up and prevented them from backing out. As they were inside a tunnel, they were effectively trapped inside.

Momo was freaked out. She had just recently gotten a recommendation spot at UA, and she vaguely knew there had been some threats made against her family because of it, but she didn't know that something like this would happen!

Were people really that cutthroat about getting their kids into UA without having to go through the entrance exam?

“Stay down, princess. I'll take care of these idiots.”

“What are you doing? Aren't you supposed to be guarding me? Why would you confront them directly?” said Momo confused.

He smirked.

“Who said I was the only guard on the bus?” he countered. “I'm just the bait for anyone stupid enough to attack.”

Momo blinked, before she watched as he practically decimated the idiots trying to kidnap or hurt her.

If he wasn't the only bodyguard on the bus, who else was here? Her father had only introduced her to the odd masked man before she left for school.

Unnoticed, the two 'extra' girls kept a close eye on the heiress who had no idea they were so close.

“Dabi's doing really well out there,” commented Toga, completely confident in whatever trickery Sakura had going to keep them unnoticed by everyone else.

The plan was elegant in it's simplicity. Dabi would act as the 'bodyguard' and draw out anyone stupid enough to go after the girl, while Sakura and Toga would stay close to their paycheck and keep an eye on her discreetly. While everyone was busy looking at him, they'd miss the two girls coming in from behind.

With the idiots dealt with, the bus continued on it's way. The local hero had been alerted, so the fools would be arrested soon enough. With such a capable bodyguard on board, the teachers felt secure enough to continue the trip.

“I can't believe they're going anyway,” said Dabi in annoyance.

“They're spoiled rich kids, nii-san. They wouldn't know real danger unless it bit them in the ass. Once we're at the destination I'll stick closer to the girl, but the next best chance to attack would be the return trip...” said Sakura.

“Agreed. Have fun,” said Dabi.

Considering Sakura had fled the house so young, this was likely the first time she had ever been on a school trip like this. She had become home-schooled by her own choice at an early age out of necessity.

The trip was boring enough...with the bloodthirsty Toga around, any would be opportunists soon found themselves on the wrong end of a knife. It was ridiculously easy to pick them off...thanks to the donation of blood from the parents, she took the form of the target and walked off into discreet alleys to eliminate the would-be kidnappers. The idiots never saw her coming.

Meanwhile Sakura kept the heiress safe with her friends while Toga and Dabi worked.

If she quietly enjoyed the trip, well, neither of them were going to say anything about the matter.

The only real annoyance during the remainder of the trip came on the way back. There was a second attack...only this time the local heroes were alerted to the issue and had decided to grab a bit of extra glory by sticking their nose into things.

“Nii-san, what's going on?” asked Sakura, wandering over to where Dabi was arguing with the local heroes.

“These idiots are keeping us from completing the mission,” said Dabi irritably.

“If you could just hand over your license and prove you're legitimate...” said the hero suspiciously.

Dabi looked ready to burn the fool into a crisp. Anyone could tell the hero was only doing this because he wanted to endear himself to the client's parents. After all, he was so small time that he was just barely out of the side-kick stage. This sort of thing could easily promote him enough that he could start making real money.

Sakura sighed, and pulled out the provisional license.

“Dabi, let me handle this idiot. It seems a few misconceptions need to be...cleared up.”

Dabi took one look at the expression in his sister's eyes, and almost pitied the moron. Almost.

Anyone that stupid and greedy deserved whatever his devious baby sister was certain to come up with.

He didn't hear what his sister said, but he could see the cringe and the way the hero back-pedaled rather quickly easily enough. So did the client's daughter.

Which was why the girl approached Sakura immediately after, out of hearing of her little group.

“Who are you?”

“I'm the person who convinced your father to hire a group of unknowns,” said Sakura bluntly. “It's rather hard to dispute our ability when I kicked the ass of the hired thugs he had on his payroll without breaking a sweat.”

“So if you're the bodyguard, then who is...” 

“That's my older brother, the official 'face' of the group so to speak. It's easier to pretend he's the leader and ignore the fact it's a thirteen year old giving the actual orders,” deadpanned Sakura. 

“Why did that hero back off?” asked Momo. Even she knew what that idiot was really after.

“He realized he was about to irritate someone that was so far above his league that it would get him into more trouble than trying to endear him with your parents was worth.”

That plus the sheer level of concentrated killing intent, but that was more of an incentive after he verified that her license was in fact registered to Endeavor's hero agency. He did not want to piss off Endeavor, especially over something as trivial as his intern making a little side money. 

Once Momo was dropped off at her parent's mansion, Dabi checked their bank account after a few hours. The client had been more than generous, especially since Momo had no idea how closely she was protected until the end.

Like Sakura predicted, once word spread of a three-man group able to guard a client that closely without disturbing their daily routine that was semi-legitimate, they soon had several more requests.

It didn't take long for others to hear of how successful they were being and to take an interest in their operations.

~*~*~*~*~

Sakura looked at the seven mercenaries laid out on the floor groaning. They had mistaken Dabi as the leader and humored her request for a sparring match, never realizing their error until it was far too late.

“You... how did you beat my men?” demanded their leader, who had been standing next to Dabi the entire time.

“Who ever said my brother was the leader of our operation?” said Sakura, staring him down without fear.

The man laughed coldly.

“You're good, girl. I'll give you that. But give me one good reason why we should consider joining your group?”

“I want to organize the fringe groups before a war sparks and they're turned into cannon fodder,” said Sakura bluntly.

Seeing she had his full attention, Sakura explained her plan.

“Let's face it, All Might is old and he's been acting as the pillar for the current society so long that once his support is gone, the villains who have been hiding their real strength are going to have an absolute field day. Any idiot that takes him out is going to score one hell of a propaganda coup against the hero class. And with how pathetic they are now, a lot of people are going to die in the process... especially those in the fringes like us, who do the dirty work that the cops and the heroes can't do because of politics and the fact the press would eat them alive.”

“You may have a point, but what does that have to do with us?” asked the leader.

“Who are the heroes and villains going to hire out first to do their dirty work? Lets face it, the mercenaries are scattered and divided, and it would be all too easy for either side to justify our loss as 'expendable' because we're not one of them. After all, we're only in it for the money,” said Sakura. “But...what would happen if they had to hire to a large group of mercenaries who sent out people who were trained and had people who can and would come after their ass for betraying us?”

Seeing she had the undivided attention of the men, who were slowly picking themselves up, Sakura smirked.

“Who cares about the petty squabbles of heroes and villains? We're the people who work in the shadows because it's the only place we fit in and we do it for damn good money in the process. We're not some shiny pro hero who's in it for the fame and glory who's paycheck is contingent on how popular they are. Nor are we villains who are in it to make the world pay for whatever grievance we feel is owed to us. We're the anti-heroes, who do good deeds because we're paid, not because we actually give a damn about morals,” said Sakura.

Dead silence. Then, the leader of the mercenaries who had challenged her did something unusual.

He started laughing.

“I like you,” he said simply. “You're our sort of brat, and you clearly know the name of the game. But give me one good reason why I should put my men under your banner?”

She smirked.

“Actions are louder than words. There's nothing I can say to convince you I'm a decent leader for you or your men, but what about a collaboration effort? Let me lead a few of your men in one of our missions and let their words convince you,” said Sakura sensibly. “At the worst you lose a paycheck or two.”

Seeing the intrigued gleam in his eyes, he made a decision.

“One month. I'm giving you one month of joint missions to convince me you're worth our time.”

Sakura would be rather pleased that by the end of the month, she not only had the nine men who had come to investigate their group, but thirty more who had heard through word of mouth from the first group who were interested in what she had planned.

Mercenaries might be in it for themselves, but even they couldn't ignore what she already knew to be true. The world was standing on the precipice of a powder keg about to blow, and unless they were careful they would end up dead and forgotten on the sidelines.

Even they had their pride and dying like cannon fodder after being picked off by either side was not something any man wanted for their ending. Even if their only other option was to group up and follow the orders of a barely-minted teenage girl.

~*~*~*~*~

Izuku was positively terrified, but he still kept following the strange girl who helped him like a baby chick. It was one thing to seek out villain fights...this was like walking into a den of battle-hardened wolves.

Hearing the men jeer and call him a bunny was not helping his peace of mind.

As if the situation wasn't surreal enough, the girl who saved him...was the one the leaders were all looking to!

“What's this? Our esteemed leader brings us a little bunny?”

“Before you dismiss the small rabbit, I suggest you look at this.”

Izuku watched as she tossed him his missing notebook. He had looked everywhere for it after she saved him, but he had never been able to find it. He never thought she had picked it up or found it interesting enough to bring him here!

“Hmm? This is...!”

“Pretty good for a civvie with no training, wouldn't you agree?” she said calmly. “Imagine how good he could get if he were taught what to look for.”

Izuku felt a strange sense of pride at the way the man was looking at him.

Also, a distinct sense of trepidation.

“You, boy. Did you make this or did someone give it to you to hide?” asked the man.

“I...wrote those. I like seeing heroes at work, and picking apart their quirks,” he admitted quietly.

“What's your quirk?” asked the scarred man, leaning against the chair the girl was at.

Izuku mumbled under his breath. Seeing the expectant looks on their faces, he repeated himself a bit louder.

“I don't have one.”

“Neither do a third of the people in the room kid. Why else would they become mercs in this shitty society?” scoffed one man to the side.

Izuku's head whipped in his direction in shock.

He got up and walked towards the kid, a sympathetic look in his eyes.

“Most of my men don't have any fancy pants special tricks, and yet they're still the most dedicated and fierce fighters you'll ever meet. Just means you have to work a bit harder to whatever goal you want to accomplish. Also means the capes and the idiots they fight rarely take you seriously unless you kneecap their ass.”

Seeing the dawning hope in the kid's eyes, Sakura smirked.

“What do you say, Takeshi-san. Should we take the kid on and teach him how to really fight? From what I can tell he has a lot of potential waiting to be unleashed.”

Something told him that this was a once-in-a-lifetime chance to turn his life around.

“Please, let me join you! I don't want to be useless Deku anymore!”

The men all looked at each other, while Sakura smirked...though there was a hint of empathy in her eyes.

If someone had given her this sort of chance in her past life at any point before she turned seventeen, she would have jumped on it just as fast.

“You sure kid? We won't take it easy on you, and you'll curse us more than a few times before we consider you ready. Mercs like us don't have a long life span, and some might consider us villains,” said the scarred man.

Izuku felt his resolve strengthen.

“Everyone seems to think you need a quirk to be a hero. I want to prove them wrong and join UA on my own terms, even if I don't have one.”

“UA?” said the scarred man.

“I think we should do it. The more 'legitimate' heroes we have in our group the less likely the capes are to try and call us villains,” said Sakura. “After all, we're going to be competing for the same source of income, but we don't have as many restrictions. Besides...this means we have someone who can act as our public face for the masses if we need it.”

“Hell, let the kid in. At worst we'll just have to move the public base to another district later,” said one of the men.

The scarred man smirked.

“Welcome to the Shades, little bunny. I hope you're ready to get your ass kicked repeatedly.”

Izuku had a dawning sense of doom, but there was also a bit of hope that he could prove Bakugo wrong once and for all.


	3. Chapter 3

Izuku felt it was rather ominous when the men saw how he was interacting with “the Boss” as they called her, and they immediately decided to train up his stamina on top of his mind to some rather odd extremes. The reasoning behind it only became apparent when Dabi took it upon himself to explain.

“My sister is swiftly growing up to be one of those badass women who most men would be too terrified to date, or who would annoy her to the point she shoots them because they want to try and become the alpha of the two. That or she decides to bat for the same team out of sheer frustration of it all,” said Dabi.

“But why do they keep looking at me like that?” asked Izuku. It was seriously odd.

“Your natural personality is charismatic, but without the usual corresponding alpha dominance trait. And Sakura has shown some interest in you, if only because you actually have a brain but haven't learned how to use it for maximum efficiency yet. The fact she has a penchant for 'fluffy' things means if we can train you up to proper standards, then odds are you two might end up paired off later once the hormones properly hit.”

Izuku finally understood what Dabi was being rather tactful in avoiding.

“...They're training me up to act as her potential boyfriend, because any other guy her age might take it poorly that their girlfriend is the one who wears the pants in the relationship or would do something monumentally stupid because they want to prove their masculinity in some way,” Izuku summed up flatly.

“You're fluffy, disinclined to dominate her because you feel your manliness is being threatened, and if we train you up right then you can stand by her side without looking like she's doing all the work,” agreed Dabi. “And while the idea of Sakura dating girls exclusively doesn't overly bother me, the fact she would naturally attract other women like her does.”

Izuku felt like he should be offended, but he could honestly admit to himself that the idea of letting her be the dominant one in the relationship while he acted as the voice of reason was somewhat appealing. It was nice knowing he would be able to stand on equal grounds with a girl without being expected to protect her all the damn time.

“Speaking of the Boss, where is she?”

“Let's see...today's the second Thursday of the month, right?” said Dabi. Izuku nodded. “Then she'll definitely be there.”

Izuku's confusion was amusing, in his opinion. But nowhere near as amusing as the expression the kid had upon seeing where Sakura was.

Every second Thursday, Sakura would go to a local ice skating rink and spend at least six hours there simply skating. The owners knew her rather well at this point and were more than happy to let her stay after hours if she wanted, since she never caused trouble.

Dabi could tell from where he was standing that the kid had a boner...likely the first time he had ever had one...and a bit of a nosebleed watching his little sister skate on the rink. He might not know much about skating, but even he could tell his sister was at least pro-level at it.

Sakura's reaction to Izuku's presence was just as amusing and heartening. She actually squeaked at the sight of him, before immediately skating over.

Dabi watched the two interact and his hopes that his sister might have a thing for the rabbit, as the men called Izuku, went up. It was clear there was some attraction there...now they just had to insure nothing got between the two.

Which wasn't likely...Sakura openly encouraged Izuku's dream of being a hero and was even helping him get there, and Izuku was clearly very lonely if he willingly latched on to the first group of people willing to be friends with him and didn't give a shit about the fact he had no quirk.

“Don't forget, we have that meeting with that big-shot secret agent tomorrow at five,” said Dabi.

“Yeah, yeah I know. Gods, the sheer whining some of the men had when I said I wanted to be semi-legitimate...” said Sakura rolling her eyes.

“Semi-legitimate?” said Izuku.

“Mercenaries aren't exactly legal, but they're considered useful to government types who want to get things done but can't do it using their own people for certain reasons...usually it means politics or some other headache is involved,” explained Sakura. “So they hire outfits like us to do the work for them at a fairly high price.”

Izuku nodded, that was merely common sense.

“However a lot of heroes, especially those like All Might, wouldn't see what we do as 'good' or 'legal'. Hence why we're going to meet up with a representative of the government who can give us enough semi-legitimacy that they can't prevent us from doing our jobs. Which basically means they're going to give us the equivalent of a hero license for those without them, and access to real weaponry that's not available to the public,” said Sakura.

“Because we're outside contractors, so we need a legal document saying we're allowed to do our jobs and keep actual heroes and the cops from bothering us,” said Izuku.

“Which is what the meeting tomorrow is about. When large groups of mercenaries gather together like we have, it makes the higher ups nervous. They want to make sure we're not planning to start something and to possibly turn it into their favor.”

“So do I have to be there?” asked Izuku.

“For this kind of thing, no. We'll be recording it anyway for you to study negotiation techniques, but it's better you avoid it entirely. After all, we both want you to join UA and eventually get promoted to the hero class, which means the less exposure you have as one of us among those with power, the better off you'll be. At least until you graduate and make a name for yourself anyway.”

“What about those weirdly dressed women that come and go from the base?” asked Izuku. He had a suspicion about what they were, but was too shy to confirm it.

“Oh, the informants?” said Sakura.

“Informants?”

“You'd be amazed at what some people will drop during sex,” deadpanned Sakura, causing Izuku to openly choke in shock. “The hookers were more than happy to pass along interesting information they get during their job, since we provide protection and let them keep everything they earn. Not to mention we give them and their kids free medical care if they can't pay for it themselves. Through them we also get intel from the homeless.”

Izuku blinked.

“How does that work?”

“Outcasts from society tend to stick together. Runaways, homeless, prostitutes...all of them are things that 'polite' society prefers to look the other way on, and they know their own. They're a surprisingly tight-knit group once you've proven you actually give a damn and can be trusted,” said Sakura. “It's part of how I survived the few years I was alone until I stumbled across my brother.”

The outcasts that lived in the shadows of society that even the heroes ignored had accepted her readily enough. When her former 'neighbors' found out she had started a group that would pay for intelligence from those that people overlooked, they came to her.

After all, she wasn't going to judge the source of the intel if it meant being prepared for certain surprises on jobs.

Dabi watched and smirked as the two chatted. It was good to see his baby sister act her age for once and relax. The rabbit was good for her.

The next day...

Government spooks were all the same no matter what world you were on. They always had this mysterious and smug I-know-things-you'll-never-be-cleared-for attitude that was usually combined with a higher degree of intelligence and an ego to match.

The second the man found out that the “Boss” of the group that had caught his superiors attention was an almost fourteen year old girl...well, he let his guard down. This would be too easy, in his opinion.

Sakura had an inner smirk. She had an entire lifetime's experience outmaneuvering idiots like him and gouging whatever group he worked for to the point they had to take them serious at the negotiation table.

This was going to be fun.

Several hours later...

“Is anyone else terrified, yet highly impressed with the Boss right now, or is it just me?”

“It's not you. I thought I knew how terrifying my baby sister could get, but she was downright ruthless with that guy...” said Dabi shuddering. That poor bastard looked like he had come face to face with a dragon or something.

To add insult to injury, Sakura kept that calm poker face the entire thing and showed zero emotion. Her expression of wicked glee only became apparent when that poor fool left. The evil cackle she let off was enough to scare any civvie that heard it.

“Good thing the Queen is on our side, right boys?” said Takeshi.

Queen was Sakura's official designation in the group. Not that they used it much...most of the men called her boss when talking to her, so she was only peripherally aware of her codename. 

~*~*~*~*

It had been over six months since Izuku first met Sakura, and he could honestly say he was glad she had taken an interest in him. If not for her, he never would have considered training his ass off while studying hard to enter the business class of UA.

According to the few Underground heroes that worked with the “Shadows”, as they decided to call themselves, there was a special clause most people didn't know about the UA sports festival.

Namely the fact that depending on how you did in the sports festival, a student could be either promoted to the hero class or demoted to a different class until the next festival. Most of the business class treated it like a free day, but if Izuku did it right then he could enter UA and be promoted to a hero class without having to face the dangers of the entrance exams.

Sakura had convinced him to the business class with a few well reasoned arguments. 

One, the odds of him getting a decent score with no quirk in the entrance exams were next to nill, especially considering the sheer number of hopefuls that were admitted each year. 

Two, the chances he would end up competing directly against Bakugo in the entrance exam was rather high, and considering his temperament would only end badly for all involved.

Three, the training the Shadows had been putting him through was specifically tailored to help him use his rather impressive analysis skills and his ability to break down how a quirk worked. Something he was unlikely to get very much of in the hero course considering they only did a few actual hero classes a week and the teachers would have to be focused on a group of future heroes. Izuku would have to train even harder than they would just to keep up.

Four, no one would expect a business student to do well in the sports festival and if they could get his physical skills high enough then he could trounce the other students and be the dark horse of the festival. 

Five, if he could make it to the finals of the festival, then he was going to get a lot of attention from the teachers and other pro heroes because he didn't have a quirk to help him. After all, there was nothing in the rules that said you had to have a quirk to join the business class and there were no rules against a quirkless student joining the actual activities so long as there was no risk of his life being in danger.

The idea of not having to deal with Bakugo on a daily basis, on top of blindsiding his former friend at the sport festival was so appealing Izuku agreed to the plan almost immediately. Sure, he wouldn't be joining the hero class right away, but if he played his cards right he could still get there anyway.

Besides...the idea of plowing Bakugo into the arena floor with nothing but martial arts skills and pure power was so appealing there was no way he was going to pass that up. He didn't care how much hell the mercs threw at him to get him to that point...he wanted to get some damn payback for all the years his former friend had made his life hell simply because he could and because the adults didn't give a damn enough to call him out on his appalling behavior.

Coincidentally it was that fire and drive that made the mercenaries accept Izuku completely as one of them. They wouldn't be in this business without some ulterior motive driving them. Each and every one of them had some selfish reason for being a mercenary that lead them into that line of work. Beating up some arrogant little shit with an overblown ego because they had a fancy trick was right up their alley and they were more than happy to insure Izuku was the one delivering a much needed reality check.


	4. Chapter 4

In retrospect, Izuku should have known something was up when Touko practically flounced up to him in a good mood. No one was quite sure WHAT Sakura had done to mellow out the unusually bloodthirsty girl, and none of them really WANTED to know. All the men knew was that Touko was very firmly Sakura's left-hand woman and would rather happily murder anyone who tried to get in Sakura's way...often without even asking permission.

There were a number of suspicious deaths that fit Touko's MO from rival groups...often with a number of villainous associates...who would have had a big problem with the fact Sakura was gathering the outcasts and mercenaries and tying them into her own personal army. Particularly since she made it clear she wasn't interested in getting between the capes versus villains fight.

That was too much a headache and meant far too many restrictions regardless of which side they were on. She wanted a true neutral party, preferably one that would create a third unofficial faction that would survive long after she was gone.

“Um...did you need something, Touko-san?” asked Izuku nervously. Touko had come up to him previously and said she was going to reserve judgment on whether he was 'worthy' of Sakura.

Considering her personality, it didn't take a genius to guess if he failed that test he was screwed sideways.

“I want to get the Boss a present, but it's proven tricky to...acquire...it on my own. And I want this to be a surprise.”

“Why not ask Dabi or one of the other leaders?”

“Let me rephrase that... I want you to help me acquire it,” said Touko, her smile never leaving her face but the tone implying that refusal was a bad idea. 

Izuku wasn't stupid.

“This isn't going to be anything illegal, is it?”

“It's less kidnapping and more 'liberating' someone who should have been out a long time ago. Besides, Dabi would only compromise what I plan to do...he's too distinctive and no one would suspect a rabbit like you of being an infiltrator,” said Touko cryptically.

Not to mention Dabi would have his own reasons to rescue the 'present' Touko had in mind.

A few hours later...

Izuku was incredibly nervous. If he was found out he would be in major trouble. However after he found out what they were 'liberating' he fully agreed to Touko's plan to rescue the 'present' from the hospital.

Especially after he found the documents in the doctor's personal office. Any doubts he had about their unofficial mission died at that point.

It also solidified the idea that Endeavor was a complete and utter scumbag who didn't deserve the title of 'hero'. He fully understood why Sakura and Dabi loathed him with every fiber of their being, even if the group didn't know what their personal beef with the man was.

Waiting for Touko's signal, Izuku walked out of the office from a discreet side area dressed in an orderly's outfit. He calmly took the former Mrs. Todoroki out of her room and put her into a wheelchair. Her files stated she sometimes went catatonic for unknown reasons, and that the wheelchair was a necessity for outside walks to maintain her emotional stability.

From what Izuku found, the psychiatrist had been slipping certain medications that caused the issue in order to fulfill the agreement he had with the woman's former husband.

The woman didn't put up a fight, and Izuku felt only sympathy at the small smile she gave him. She was rather cooperative, and it wasn't until he pushed the wheelchair into the van Touko had rented that she realized something was up.

“What's going on?”

Touko eagerly slid into the driver's seat, a briefcase in hand.

“Got the files!” she chirped in the doctor's voice. To the shock of the former Mrs. Todoroki (her file listed her as Rei), the features of the doctor melted into a rather hyper looking young woman with an unhinged expression on her face.

“That was absolutely nerve-wracking,” said Izuku.

“What on earth is going on?” she asked, rather alarmed.

“We're breaking you out as a birthday surprise for our boss,” said Touko.

“From what I saw in those files, the doctor has an agreement with your former husband to keep you in that hospital to insure you never tried to claim custody of your daughter. So much so that he's been regularly paying the man off so that you never make any significant breakthroughs towards 'rehabilitation',” said Izuku in disgust. “There was even a copy of a police report that throws suspicions on the incident that put you in that hospital...I think the doctor had it for insurance in case your husband failed a payment or something.”

Searching through the files, Izuku pulled out the one he was talking about and handed it to her. Something told her she needed to see this before talking to Sakura.

The further down she read, the more her expression changed from confusion, to shock, to complete and utter betrayal.

“Why? Why save me and then show me this?” she demanded. If she didn't hate her former husband already, this would have insured it.

Izuku looked to Touko, as this was her idea.

“The boss has done so much for us. Why shouldn't we surprise her with something nice every now and then? Rescuing you is going to make her really happy and I bet even that grump Dabi will be pleased,” said Touko.

Izuku on the other hand was already filling in the blanks. It certainly explained Dabi and Sakura's utter hatred of Endeavor and why they absolutely refused to have anything to do with the hero sect, even if it would have made things a bit easier to get certain items.

The expression on Dabi and Sakura's face when Touko drove the third car she rented (all under different disguises) and opened up the door to reveal Rei was priceless.

“...Mom?” said Sakura in disbelief, her eyes wide with shock.

“Happy birthday boss! I thought liberating your mom from that stupid hospital would be an absolutely epic present!” said Touko proudly.

Sakura didn't hide her reaction to her mother. She hugged her tightly.

“How?” demanded Dabi tightly, equally as surprised.

“Touko took her primary doctor's place and I played the orderly. Coincidentally we found a lot of evidence that would make Endeavor's life even harder than normal once it gets out,” said Izuku flatly. It was clear from his tone he was displeased about something...it wouldn't be until Sakura read the files that she found out what.

~*~*~*~*~

Tsukauchi was not having a good day. He had been stuck with the missing case of Rei Todoroki, the former wife of Endeavor. Considering his status, the case had been listed as high profile and no effort was being spared to find the missing woman. Particularly considering the fact she had been kidnapped from such a high security hospital for patients with mental disorders.

“Delivery from the Happy Sun Couriers. Techs checked it...no bombs or quirk related residue,” said one of the beat cops.

“Thanks.”

There was no name other than his on the envelope, which made him suspect that someone had slipped it in to the normal courier's route, or paid off the courier to deliver it personally.

When he opened up the envelope, his chair crashed to the ground as he stood up from shock.

“Where's the courier?” he demanded.

In short order the entire department was a beehive, though only a select few were aware of what was going on. The only thing that was allowed to filter out was that it had something to do with the Todoroki case.

To add to his frustration, a couple of weeks later someone leaked more copies of the files he had in his office. Including the copy of the police report that really sent suspicions in his mind.

Normally the press was a pain in the ass to deal with in any case, but once he got over his initial irritation they became a blessing. 

Any reporter worth his salt would have a nose for a major scoop, and most would happily rip a pro hero's reputation to shreds if there was actual evidence.

From what he found, there was enough evidence to warrant a major investigation into the personal life of Endeavor. From the missing person's report that was mostly swept under the rug regarding his youngest, to the incident with his wife that sent her to the hospital until she was kidnapped.

Something was extremely fishy, and he wanted to get to the bottom of it. However Endeavor's status made it extremely difficult, as he had a habit of intimidating any potential leads and witnesses into silence.

Which was why Tsukuachi was almost glad the press got wind of the files. Almost.

Whoever sent the information was the same person who tipped him off to the fact someone from Endeavor's agency was paying off the doctor to insure the hero's former wife never got out and gained custody of her daughter.

The sheer level of fallout that could occur if the press dug something up about the truth meant Endeavor was busier trying to hinder them with a potential lawsuit and not hindering the police investigation.

“This entire thing is a gods-damned mess...” said Tsukuachi, going out for drinks.

“That bad, huh?” said his drinking partner. Though the other looked a bit like a skeleton, there was a sort of aura around him that practically screamed a hidden well of power.

“The more I dig into things, the bigger the headache I get at the thought of how the press is going to blow everything out of the water. It's going to deal some major damage to the trust the public has in pro heroes,” said Tsukuachi. “What's worse is that it's going to make the number of vigilantes swell.”

“What about this new group...the Shadows I think they're called?”

The detective grimaced at the reminder. So far they were remaining under the radar, but something about the group gave him an off feeling. The problem was that even with the number of vigilantes in it, the leader had somehow managed to get enough government backing to make it legitimate enough that the cops couldn't arrest them.

The part that worried him most was the fact that the group's leader was said to be ridiculously young and that most of the members of the faction had been gathering weapons. Almost like it was preparing for war.

A few had tried to infiltrate the group, to see what was going on. However they all ended up falling for the strange charisma of the leader and ended up having to be taken from the case.

“How bad do you think it's going to get?” asked his friend.

“Bad. The things that could be uncovered in the investigation...the fallout is going to be immense,” he said without hesitation. 

His friend winced.

“Ah. Bad.”

The two drank in silence. 

Either way this conversation would come back to haunt both of them very shortly, though not in the way either of them expected.

~*~*~*~*~

Eraserhead was on a special mission. Upon catching wind of the sheer fallout that was likely to be caused by some of Endeavor's secrets coming to light, Nezu had asked him to infiltrate the group calling themselves the Shadows after hearing several rumors that they might be preparing for war.

The number of weapons said to be in their hands was worrying enough. Add in the fact that a number of vigilantes and outliers had been said to join in, and you had a recipe for trouble.

Rumor said that the group was recruiting underground heroes, so he had been one of the few personally selected to find out what they were planning.

He was not expected to be busted almost immediately after being taken to a secondary facility as an infiltrator.

“Hey Boss, we got another one!” shouted one of the men doing the sign-in.

“Again? Who got sent this time?” said an exasperated female voice.

Eraserhead raised an eyebrow. He knew the report said that the “boss” was ridiculously young, but he didn't expect the person who came out to be someone almost the same age as his students. Hell, she barely looked fourteen!

“One of the UA teachers,” said the merc.

“Seriously?” she said annoyed.

“I told you buying that many weapons would make the cops nervous,” said an older man who bore a resemblance to the girl. Brother and sister maybe? It would fit with the limited reports they had on the group.

The girl rolled her eyes. 

“Head to the large meeting room with the others. Might as well get the usual orientation over with before we deal with this headache,” she said annoyed.

If Eraserhead had any inkling of what he was about to deal with, he might have walked right out.

Either way he was never going to hear the end of it from Hizashi about being converted to what he would complain was a very weird cult...regardless of how often the Boss kicked his ass for calling it that.

(The sad thing was that the joke stuck, and would later be upgraded to a very strange religion of sorts. Sakura would never live it down, to her annoyance.)


	5. Chapter 5

Eraserhead had to admit, he could see why so many veterans and mercenaries had fallen under a fourteen year old girl's spell.

This Sakura was incredibly charismatic, practical and had a decent head on her shoulders. She wasn't out for fame and fortune, but rather damage control.

Not many her age would realize that All Might's time was swiftly running out, or that once he was gone that there would be a major ripple effect where a number of highly dangerous villains that had remained in hiding for a number of years would take the opportunity to reveal themselves and cause untold amounts of damage. Both direct and collateral.

She could care less about being a hero, and seemed to have a fairly well rounded idea of what a mercenaries did and why they were necessary.

He quickly found out why the various groups agreed to join however. Rather than claiming all the power for herself, she elected spokesmen from each mercenary group that joined and had them filter out the orders in a way that suited the members. Rather like how a general would come up with the plan, and the sergeants would have it executed in the field.

Her methods were almost militaristic, but with very limited amounts of the strict protocol involved.

As for the vigilantes...a good number of them were idealistic idiots who couldn't get into a hero school for one reason or another, or who struck out of one because of behavioral issues. Thanks to the negotiation of the girl, they had enough legitimacy to play at being hero without being arrested for it.

The thing that baffled him most was the fact that the Boss didn't really care about whether or not he saw how their operations worked. Far from it.

There was a minor training course that anyone could try out (it had a bit of a waiting list, which indicated how popular it was), there were several missions available on what looked like a quest board of all things, and there was a list of places where you could get a drink and swap information with informants along with a price range.

And that was just on the surface level for new recruits.

“This place makes no sense,” said Eraserhead.

“...Would it make you feel any better if I said that what you see here is just the minimum allowed for new members and was based off a video game guild system?” asked Dabi.

“Not really, though it really highlights her age.”

“At this point I'll take whatever I can get that lets my little sister act her age.”

Eraserhead was about to reply when he saw something that had him whip his head around.

That looked like Todoroki Rei, the missing woman from the hospital. From the way she was interacting with the leader, it was clear the two were close. So much so that he discreetly took a sample of the leader's DNA along with the DNA of her 'brother' for testing.

What he found threw an entirely new spin behind the kidnapping and why the documents of the doctor had been leaked.

A week later...

“What did you find?” asked Nezu.

“Apparently the kidnapping was supposed to be a 'birthday' present from the group's lead infiltrator, a girl known only as Blood Mage to the lower levels. She had help from the group's lead quirk analyst known as Rabbit,” said Eraserhead.

“A birthday present?” repeated All Might incredulous.

Eraserhead had a headache.

“I got the lab resorts back. The samples I took lead me to believe that the group's leader is none other than the missing daughter of Endeavor. And the second in command, who goes by Hellfire, is her actual brother,” said Eraserhead.

“So you're saying the crisis we're dealing with now is because the siblings want revenge? Why start such a large, elaborate group?” asked Best Jeanist.

Eraserhead shook his head.

“The kidnapping and the subsequent investigation was coincidental. Their main goal is 'damage control', according to the leader,” said Eraserhead.

“Damage control?” repeated Nezu.

Eraserhead looked at All Might specifically.

“According to the leader, once All Might is permanently gone either from retirement or a lucky shot, all hell is going to break loose...particularly in Japan. Villains that have laid low and built up their strength are going to pop out of the woodwork in droves, and the current heroes aren't going to stand a chance in hell considering the quality had degraded to a rather alarming extent. She created the group in an effort to gather enough force that they could limit the collateral damage and minimize the number of casualties from the cascade,” said Eraserhead.

“That's it?” said Hizashi incredulous.

Eraserhead played back the recording. He was still surprised that they had let him keep it even after finding it so quickly. Much less given him as much access as they had.

“Let's face it, the first people the government are going to hire when it becomes clear that the current number of heroes aren't going to be sufficient for the crisis that will happen upon All Might's removal are going to be the vigilantes and the mercenary groups. While I know most of you are used to being considered 'expendable cannon fodder', the simple fact is that they won't hesitate to cut us loose and the outcasts used as scapegoats in an effort to keep the pro hero class clean. Which is where the Shadows come in. We don't do this for the glory, the fame, or the acknowledgment of the public. We're in this for the money and a chance to make a living without being tied to the constraints of the civilians we're protecting. Alone we are insignificant, but when grouped together into a force that they have to take seriously as a potential power, we can protect ourselves from the worst of the inevitable backlash we're going to get once what we do becomes public.”

Eraserhead stopped the recording.

“She certainly has a solid grasp of government politics,” said Nezu. He was rather impressed. She was blunt, to the point and still appealed to the less desirable members of society that were an unfortunate necessity.

“From what I can tell, the entire thing acts like a guild of sorts. The girl makes the plans, and the various representatives of the mercenaries execute the more serious missions while the vigilantes keep their image clean on the surface. Only the most loyal and trusted members earn code names, and only a few are known to the general members,” said Eraserhead.

“Why not work with the pro heroes then?” asked All Might.

“Endeavor. I think they're serious about making a genuine neutral group,” said Eraserhead. He paused for a moment. “That or the girl inadvertently started her own cult.”

“Are they a threat?” asked Nezu seriously.

“At a glance? Not as far as I can tell. However I've only been part of the group for a few weeks... I haven't earned any real trust with the higher ups and I have no idea if they have a hidden agenda. I think the girl is serious about limiting the civilian casualties though.”

Either way the group was one they needed to watch.

~*~*~*~*~

Izuku was nervous, more so than any mission. Mostly because of what he had in his hands.

After helping Touko rescue Rei-san, Sakura had become unusually affectionate to him. He was barely used to the idea of being friends with a girl, so the fact that they might start heading towards dating was highly nerve-wracking. The only consolation was that practically everyone was for the idea of him dating Sakura, despite the fact they were overprotective about everything else.

He sometimes wondered how much her makeshift family really cared about her wellbeing, both emotionally and mentally. Dabi always took it as a sign of 'victory' every time she slipped out of her “Queen” mindset as the guys called it and actually acted her age.

Despite being so self-sufficient, she was emotionally fragile. That had become very apparent after they had rescued her mother.

Rei had latched on to any chance to make it up to her daughter, and had eagerly accepted the idea of some mother-daughter bonding time.

Most of the men were more than understanding after Sakura explained the full details...including why she and Dabi absolutely hated Endeavor.

Seeing his target, he took a deep breath and went for it.

“Um Sakura? Dabi gave me some extra tickets to a nearby amusement park. Would you like to go?” he said in a barely understandable rush.

She paused and blinked.

“What?”

“I have extra tickets to an amusement park. Would you like to go?” he repeated.

Sakura had a strange expression on her face as she asked “Is this another one of Dabi's attempts to nudge us together?”

“I think so,” admitted Izuku.

“Then sure, why not? We could use a break anyway.”

It took Izuku several seconds to register she had agreed to a date. But once he did he blushed and it clashed horribly with his dark green hair.

They both knew that there was a high chance they'd be followed/recorded during the entire thing, but they didn't really care.

A few days later...

When Izuku left for his date, Inko had been in tears. Apparently she had already seen this coming and had been waiting for months for him to ask Sakura out.

She highly approved of the girl as a 'good influence', though she was completely unaware of the fact that Izuku was part of a semi-vigilante group.

The two of them went to an All Might theme park...Dabi knew Izuku too well and if Endeavor ever found out where his youngest had her first date, he'd have an apoplectic fit.

If he hadn't keeled over from what Sakura had deliberately done to his reputation and chances of ever taking All Might's spot as the number one hero. There was a high chance he'd straight up murder her considering all the dirty secrets that were still being uncovered about his personal life.

The press were still uncovering shit he had tried to keep buried and were positively drooling over the sheer increase to their paychecks from the fiasco.

Dabi watched the two with tolerable amusement, his mother cheerfully recording everything next to him. After the initial shock of being freed from that hospital, Rei had more or less bounced back after Sakura rather happily declared she would sooner fill up Endeavor with enough bullets that any metal-detector could find him from a mile away before she ever let her mother go back to that house. Considering the sheer number of weapons her daughter had...and the rather unnerving expression on Touko's face at the thought of brutally murdering her former husband...she believed her. 

It hadn't taken long for the rest of the mostly-former mercenaries to join in, and accept her as one of their own. It was nice...almost like her daughter had created an incredibly over-protective family that accepted those society had discarded.

Dabi suddenly disappeared for a moment, before dragging one of the newer members of the 'guild' as one game-obsessed merc had called it to their table.

“How did you even see me?” complained Eraserhead.

“One of Sakura's favorite games is 'spot the sniper', and if you fail then you get pelted by an unholy number of paintballs that aim for areas that hurt like a bitch. You tend to learn pretty damn fast how to be observant in your surroundings,” deadpanned Dabi.

Far too many of the snipers in the guild had far too much fun with that particular game, and anyone who complained were told to suck it up because situational awareness was important and being able to spot a sniper under cover was a good skill to have.

Even if several still bitched about the fact Sakura had yet to lose said game.

“What sort of mission would require you to stake out an amusement park?” asked Eraserhead. Was he pouting?

“The most difficult mission of all,” deadpanned Dabi. “Insuring my little sister doesn't become one of those hard ass women that can never find a boyfriend and take it out on the rest of us by being a complete bitch.”

Rei choked at that, then gave her eldest son a Look. Dabi gave her a flat expression in return.

“You don't seem to realize that Sakura is naturally predisposed to being one of those hard ass military women who take men's egos and eat them for breakfast while showing them up. She's already driven enough as it is...I'd rather insure she had a boyfriend she can stand now rather than deal with the aftermath of several failed relationships that just turn her into a complete nightmare to deal with.”

“And you're here because...”

“Family blackmail,” deadpanned Dabi. Rei nodded enthusiastically at that. 

Besides, it was nice to watch her baby girl act her age around such an adorable little rabbit like Izuku.

Eraserhead looked dubious, but after seeing the way Sakura was acting around her mystery boyfriend (for some reason he could never get a clear view of the kid...it was always obscured by something) he relaxed and left. Not his problem.


End file.
